The Single Rose
by river of the sand
Summary: He was everything she needed, everything she wanted: but she would never be enough for him. Love wasn't supposed to be this hard. Rated M just to be safe. *reposted*


**Author's Notes:  
I've been going over my fics, deciding what to keep and what to get rid of… then deleted this one. Reposted and happy about it. :) Read and review. :)**

–  
**The Single Rose**  
–

_Come pick me red roses,  
And our love will survive  
And nothing you ever do  
Will drench the burning inside_

_If I have learnt anything  
It's that we just need time  
Then one heart is broken  
And if not yours, then mine_

_Your face shows your thoughts  
And when you smile, I cry  
So why must you leave me  
Why must you say goodbye?_

–

Sakura remembered the cherry blossoms of the Sakura tree she had been named after, and of sitting under the tree that day with Sasuke Uchiha and holding hands. He was the boy she had fantasized about, the love she had hoped for, and the boyfriend she had had to sacrifice friendships to obtain.

_Sasuke Uchiha._

That day, under the Sakura tree, he had given her what she had always wanted: his love. It had blossomed, he told her, and now we can be together. He would repeat this to her lovingly and she was happy. She had his hand in hers and his heart in hers. But it wasn't enough. Could he stay with her knowing he had given up his chance to kill his brother? These thoughts seemed to plague his mind, and yet he shared none of them. He would not smile unless to distract her from questioning him, and only held hands with her in private. Was he ashamed of her?

She watched him struggle to gain power, and push himself beyond his limits to attain what was ultimately unattainable. She had cried when he fought Naruto, and then in the aftermath, would not even speak to _her_. He left her feeling miserable, and wondering what he would do next. That night had been the beginning of the end, on that path out of Konoha, and she had seen it coming, and done nothing. It tore her apart to realise that nothing she said or did would have made any difference. There was nothing to do now. At least, that was what she told herself, awoken the next morning by Kotetsu and Izumo. Sasuke had knocked her unconscious to stop her from following, but also because he would otherwise have to kill her. She had threatened to scream. His hand on hers, his lips brushing her ear, and still the tender words he uttered did not make her feel important. What was she to him?

It was too tempting, to betray all that he knew, all that he supposedly _loved_, for a hope that his chance to kill his older brother could come sooner, with Orochimaru's help. He would not stay, he could not forget about his revenge.

_Sasuke Uchiha._

And then so many years later, he found her bleeding on the battlefield, having been left for dead by the Akatsuki, the only survivor in her Anbu squad. Instead of killing her, or simply leaving her to die, he nursed her back to health. Once she had rested, she had given Sasuke that which she had been waiting to give him for years: her body. They had to be in love, right? But still he left her, again. He would not return to the village, and she could not leave Konoha.

A year later, having kept that day in the makeshift hut to herself, she encountered him again. He acted on instinct, and she let down her defences – in the rain, and in the woods, he had found her, given her what her body yearned for, only to leave her again. And again, she kept it quiet, no-one, not even Naruto had been there to stop her.

And there he was again, as if out of nowhere. She was on a solo mission and had just completed it in record time. She was all alone. Sasuke came to her, made love to her, and then left her all alone. But had it really been love? The Sakura tree had been so long ago. _Could_ he still love her? Was a member of Akatsuki capable of love?

_Sasuke Uchiha._

And now, only months on since the last time he had taken her body, but never given his heart, he had come back to defile her again. What was he planning now that he has his revenge on Konoha, what could possibly excuse what he had done? She felt dirty, and weak and pathetic. How could she have let this go on for so long? If she had just stopped him, if she had taken advantage of his lulled state, of that moment after achieving his eagerness where he lay back in satisfied pleasure, would they both be in this predicament now?

He was beneath her, _inside_ her, and his eyes told her he was thinking about their first time. He had chosen to take her, knowing the consequences, then again, and again. It was a brutal cycle. Fate had reunited them, only to shatter her innocence, to torment her, and then finally to destroy her future. _Now_, on the forest floor, outside the borders of Konoha, she had chased him down, only to find herself in his arms once again. But it was too late. There was no point in reminiscing on the past, the violent, broken moments in which she would give herself wholly and completely to a man that had no intention of going back to the beginning. That was his choice.

'_And now I must make mine,' _she thought, gritting her teeth.

She held his life in her hands. Looking into those red eyes, those _killer_ eyes, she hesitated. He had hesitated to kill _her_ – that was why she was still alive. But Sasuke Uchiha was a killer. So he had loved her once. So she had loved him as well. But now, the killing had to stop, they both had to be free. The red rose flitted about her mind's eye. He had originally given her a cherry blossom, the light pink flowers that reminded him of her hair. After she'd told him she preferred roses, it had been nothing else since. But there was one rose, a single stem he'd given her that stood out from the rest. Waking up on a park bench in the cold of the early morning, she'd found it in her hair.

'_A single rose to say goodbye.'_

A single rose, that had withered in a day. It had always been that way with him. Nothing he gave her ever lasted. He was a true Uchiha, in every sense of the word.

_Sasuke Uchiha._

Sakura shifted as Sasuke continued to hold her. Her kunai had gone to his throat every time they met in some remote place. She would always press it against his skin as he slid inside her, as though it were her defence against his lips. This time had been no different. They had not kissed each other since before he'd left Konoha. It was not his mouth, but his intense _desire_ that she needed to defend against. And it was what she couldn't defend against.

Her body wracked with pleasure, she could only remember those moments where Sasuke Uchiha had both loved and hurt her. They were the moments that would give her the strength she needed. She gripped the kunai tighter as they neared the end of this incursion.

She did not call out as he peaked, preferring not to show him how much he still excited her. Instead, she whispered lovingly. 'I'm sorry.'

He opened his mouth to ask why, but gagged instead. Sakura pushed the blade of her kunai deep into his throat, having lowered her eyes to avoid that Sharingan. But she needn't have bothered. Stunned by her attack, he fell away from her, grasping desperately at his throat. His life's blood spilled out, and in the moments before all he saw was black, she knelt down beside him, to whisper in his ear. Her voice was laced with anger and shaking with fear:

'I am carrying your child.'

X X X

**A/N: And that's that. It's a reminder that regardless of the fact that I haven't had the inclination to write SasuSaku lately, it's still in my head. Maybe I'll try getting back to my other fics – who knows?  
For now, reviews would be nice. :)**


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